Communications in Botswana
Encyclopedia
Communications in Botswana
A fiber-optic telecommunications network has been completed in Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

 connecting all major population centers.

In addition to the government-owned newspaper and national radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 network, there is an active, independent press
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

 (six weekly newspapers). Two privately owned radio stations began operations in 1999. At the end of July 2000, the government-owned Botswana Television (BTV) was launched, which is Botswana's first national television station. It began broadcasting with 3 hours of programming on weekdays and 5 on weekends, and offers news (Setswana and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

), entertainment, and sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

s, with plans eventually to produce 60% of its programming locally. Foreign publications are sold without restriction in Botswana, and there are three commercial Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...

s. Two cellular phone providers cover most of the country.

Telephones - main lines in use:
  • 136,900 (2006)


Telephones - mobile cellular:
  • 1.427 million (2007)


system:

general: the system is expanding with the growth of mobile-cellular service and participation in regional development; system is fully digital with fiber-optic cables linking the major population centers in the east; fixed-line connections declined in recent years and now stand at roughly 8 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density currently is about 80 per 100 persons

domestic:
small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations; mobile-cellular service is growing fast

international:
country code - 267; international calls are made via satellite, using international direct dialing; 2 international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2007)

Radio broadcast stations:
  • AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001)


Television broadcast stations:
  • 2 (2007) (1 state-owned, 1 private)


Televisions:
  • 80,000 (2006)
  • 31,000 (1997)


Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
  • 11 (2001)
  • 2 (1999)


Internet hosts:
  • 6,374 (2008)


Internet users:
  • 80,000 (2007)


ADSL has been introduced in the following areas:
Gaborone
Gaborone
' is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 191,776 based on a 2006 survey, about 10% of the total population of Botswana....

, Tlkokweng, Mogoditsane, Phakalane, Francistown, Lobatse, Palapye, Maun, Kasane, Selibe-Phikwe, Letlhakane, Jwaneng, Orapa

Country codes: BW

External links

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